Big Budget Brides- BBB

I am technically a part of this group because we did not have a budget. Our biggest "splurge" I guess would be our wedding rings. His at 7k, my e ring was $20k and band was 10k. We value jewelry moreso than some other splurge for one day only. We are having a small, 50 person wedding in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay that's costing about $20,000 not including honeymoon or rings.

50k budget here but for about 250-300 guests. 6k for photography is done and I've budgeted 10k for a dress! Venue was actually a pretty great deal.

Oh my hehe

It's interesting to see what BBB's are doing.

My budget is very small. Mostly because I'm in graduate school to become a psychologist, but also because we are wanting to save for our *future* child's college fund.

If I were to dream about what I would spend on a big wedding, though, it would be renting out a huge cabin or beach house where all my family/friends could stay and play together for an entire weekend.

My wedding ended up at $70k for only 110 people. The venue / food / bar was the largest single cost at $30k. My dress was an Amsale and over $9k when alterations and a crystal belt were factored. $6k for florals and decor. $2500 for stationery. My husband wore a $3k custom-made suit (that splurge was great since he can wear it again to formal events). Everything just added up and I was a bit shocked when I did the math.

ETA - 4k for photography.

Our wedding ended up being over 50k (I was hoping to keep it under 35k) not including our rings which were family heirlooms, the honeymoon and my dress and his suit. Most going to catering and the open bar which was almost 22k. We also ended up getting a videographer which wasn't originally in the plan (5.5k). And last min we got a photo booth, a cigar roller and added a whiskey tasting which was never in the original plan which added up to another 3k. Another splurge I had was getting a full time wedding planner (6k). We did a destination wedding and I would not have been able to do it with out help.

My wedding has cost about $35k. We received about $17k from our parents and paid for the rest ourselves. The biggest expense was our venue cost/catering (all done by the venue) which in total was $19k of the budget. Other expenses included $3k videographer, $2.5k drinks and bartender (we provide our own alcohol), $1k DJ, $1.5k photographer, $3k honeymoon, $1.5k attire for myself, groom, and flower girl (daughter), $2k rings, and then misc decor etc...

@Happy - I actually looked at that place for one of my venues! It was gorgeous but it was just way too much money for what you were getting and you had to use their wedding planner which was like $20k...nope sorry!

Damn...I thought I had a huge budget with $20k....haha. Spent about 17k by the end of it all, biggest splurge was 2.5k on the photographer.

Ooohhhh....I remember a Greek girl (I think her name was Athena and her FH's was Apollo) and I don't think she even had a budget. One of the last posts I remember her mothering going super crazy with flowers and sky the limit. I wonder what happened to her??? I really wanted to see THOSE BAM photos!

I guess it's not a "big" budget, but it's way more than FH would have liked to spend. with $35k, everything has been a splurge. lol.

Wow... SO cool to see these large budgets! Keep em comin'! This nosey chick will keep gawking....

Wow...I was really feeling like we were a bigger budget on here till I saw this listing...if we include all the pre travel trips to see the venue and lodging for me and my family for the week...then we are around 27-35k (which included an engagement party for 120-150 people). This does not include the honeymoon or our rings. I price shopped things a lot to get the most bang for my buck. We don't really have as many splurges as it might seem. We picked the cheapest buffet (but customized it so it feels luxurious to me), I found my dress at full price but ordered it online from a bride that changed her mind so I got it roughly 600 dollars cheaper...I am having my wedding off season so I don't have room fees and because it gives huge discounts to my traveling guests instead of summer full price rooms....

Edit for Guest #: A little less than 220 guests.

Our budget is $14K, however that doesn't include rings, my gown or our honeymoon. All said and done we are looking at approximately $25K for our wedding of 65 guests.

I think I was in the 15k range by the end of it. I didn't really keep track. My dad paid for the venue (which included the ceremony location, reception, cocktail hour with snacks, plated dinner, open bar, late night dessert table, tables, chairs, setup and linens). That was around $6000, I think.

Then $4000 for our awesome Disney World honeymoon.

$1000 dress and veil $180 that my mom paid most of the cost.

Decorations for the ceremony/reception were $600 paid for by my mom.

To me the splurges were things that I paid for like $400 ish for the wedding favours and $600 cake and $450 invitations. $2200 for both rings was also big for us.

I feel so blessed that my family was able to help me out with the costs. I would have only been able to afford a $10,000 wedding if it was FH and I paying for it. With my family covering many costs I was able to splurge on the little things I wanted.

@Northern MN, don't feel bad. Remember everyone is from different places so some of these may be "low" for their area. I was told that $45k was the average for the city we are getting married in, so we are only spending about $15k over that average.

I think we're going to clock in right around $32k. Our catering is the biggest expense at $18k but that includes set up/tear down/tables/linens/silverware/glasses/bar tenders/servers/venue day-of/food/tax & gratuity. After that, it's our photographer at $3200. And he's worth every penny! My parents gave $20k but the rest is all us.

Our budget was 30k... we've gone over by 2k... but that does not include rings, my gown, and the honeymoon... so we've probably spent closer to 40k. The biggest splurges were the open bar, and our venue/ catering. We are having around 230 guests.

The whole wedding is a splurge.

We have $80k, but our goal is $50k. The biggest splurge is the venue. Catering not included, the venues we are considering start at $25,000. This includes set/clean up, tables/chairs, linens, dinner, flat, stem & drinkware

I suppose we have a larger budget. We're spending about $33,000 for the wedding. Factor in rings and the honeymoon, $45,000.

Our venue was our biggest splurge at $21,000, which also includes food, alcohol and the cake.